“Bloody Sunday” Remembered in Selma -- Obama Campaign Participates in March
from Tania B., Digital Lead at the Obama campaign: http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/bloody-sunday-remembered-in-selma
This weekend marked the 47th Anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery March known as “Bloody Sunday”. The events of “Bloody Sunday” are etched in the minds of Americans. It was one of many protests during the Civil Rights Movement. The events in Selma marked a tragic showdown between protestors and police in Alabama over voting rights and voter disenfranchisement. Protestors, many who were young organizers, were hosed, beaten and tear-gassed. The events of “Bloody Sunday” were instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Today, the event is commemorated with the Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee. On Sunday, March 4, 2012, thousands of people from across the country converged upon Selma, Alabama to mark the event which included service at Brown Chapel AME, the church where marchers began their journey 47 years ago. This year’s march saw the likes of the Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Representative John Lewis who was one of the leaders of the march at the age of 22, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous; Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama, Martin L. King III and President Obama’s Senior Advisor, Valerie Jarrett. Marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge to mark the 47th Anniversary of the event.
OFA Volunteers from across Alabama canvassed the event as well. The march will conclude this Friday in Montgomery, AL and is led my Reverend Al Sharpton. The march from Selma-to-Montgomery will end with an event at the Capitol in protest of tough immigration reform and voter ID legislation in Alabama.
read: http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/bloody-sunday-remembered-in-selma
set of photos from march on Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/organizingforamerica-al/sets/72157629530395059/
= new reply since forum marked as read
